Police launch New Operation Car Wash crackdown in Brazil
Federal Police launched stage 29 of Operation Car Wash on Monday (May 23). It is serving six search and seizure warrants and three detentions of suspects in Brasília, Rio de Janeiro, and Recife.
The warrants were issued by the Federal Court of Curitiba, Paraná, as part of an investigation into criminal conspiracy, money laundering, and bribery in connection with Petrobras graft money.
One of the targets of the investigation, João Cláudio Genu, was an aide to former federal deputy José Janene, and an unofficial treasurer for Janene's Progressive Party (PP). Along with Janene, Genu was one of the defendants in the “Mensalão” cash-for-vote scandal, charged with withdrawing about $310,500 in cash from SMP&B company accounts controlled by Marcos Valério Fernandes de Souza, one of the Mensalão middlemen, to funnel it to PP congressmen.
The “Mensalão” was a corruption scandal involving monthly kickback payments to lawmakers to secure their support for government proposals, which emerged during the first term of former president Luís Inácio Lula da Sílva (2003-2006). In the trial, Genu was convicted of corruption and money laundering by the Supreme Court, but the corruption counts ended up time-barred, and the money laundering charges were appealed and overturned into an acquittal.
According to Federal Police, Operation Car Wash investigations unearthed evidence implicating Genu in the corruption scandal around Petrobras contracts. The findings indicate he continued to receive monthly kickbacks, even during the Mensalão trial and after his conviction. Kickback transfers continued at least until 2013.
Operation Car Wash stage 29 was dubbed “Repescagem” (“Playoffs”) because the main target of the investigation has an existing conviction from Mensalão. The detainees and the evidence collected will be taken to the Federal Police building in Curitiba later today.
Translated by Mayra Borges
Fonte: Police launch New Operation Car Wash crackdown in Brazil
